Backyard Moments: Scattered Clouds
by amy.werner.794
Summary: This second entry in my "Backyard Moments" series is an AU filler for "Nightcrawler". Amanda is recovering from her ordeal at home, and hasn't returned to the Q Bureau yet.


Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is the property of Warner Bros. and Shoot the Moon Productions. I enjoy borrowing their characters for entertainment purposes only.

Amanda rushed out her backdoor and hungrily drew in a breath of unseasonably warm autumn air. She'd been in the house, under her mother's watchful eyes, since Lee had dropped her off the previous afternoon. Being home felt good after being Addi Birol's hostage for several days, and then spending twenty-four hours under observation in the Agency infirmary. Hours of Dotty's aggressive mothering had made her feel claustrophobic; the yard she reasoned would offer her the space she craved to collect her scattered thoughts. _I missed the boys and Mother so much. I was afraid that I'd never…no, I have to stop thinking that way…I'm home, I'm safe and I'm fine._ A neighbor three houses down slammed a door, the sudden loud noise caused Amanda to jump and her breath caught in her chest. For an instant she was back in a stark white room, being taunted by Birol's incessant questioning. Some questions she couldn't answer and others she wouldn't allow herself to answer. 

The insistent chirping of birds in a nearby tree brought Amanda back to the present. She strolled deeper into the yard as she fought to bring her racing heartbeat under control. Kneeling in the grass, she wrapped her arms around her chest, and tried to steady her frayed nerves. As her pulse slowed to a near normal level, several weeds that had infiltrated her orderly flower beds caught her attention. She reached out and ruthlessly ripped them from the ground and tossed them into the grass beside her with satisfaction. Turning to admire the usually well manicured patch of land, she was aggravated by the sight of even more weeds.

Ten minutes later, Dotty came up behind her as she continued to tear at the unwelcome plant-life, tossing them aside wildly. 

"Amanda, Dear, what are you doing out here?" 

"Weeding."

"I can see that." The older woman continued to watch her daughter, apprehension written on her face. "Why now?" 

"I've been pulled in so many different directions lately…I didn't notice that I'd lost control…"

"You're overreacting, you're overtired…you should be inside resting up from-" 

"I've been trapped inside since yesterday," she interrupted, finally turning to face her mother. "What is it that you think that I should be resting up from," she demanded.

"I don't know…I wish I did," she replied, throwing up her hands dramatically. "You refused to tell me what went wrong during your business trip." _Although that didn't surprise me one bit._

"What makes you think that there was a problem," she countered, rising from the ground. _I've got to get out of here. I can't deal with any more questions that I can't answer._

"I'm not a fool, Amanda." She quickly placed herself squarely in her daughter's path. "I know something went wrong…granted, the house wasn't crawling with Feds like the last time…and your Mr. Stetson wasn't with you." Amanda briefly stiffened at that comment, a reaction that wasn't lost on her concerned mother. 

"Leave him out of this!"

"I will not. He's mixed up in whatever happened; if he weren't, he wouldn't have come here while you were…wherever you were." _I'm not backing off now that I've met him. I'm more certain than ever that there is more between them than friendship._ "He's clearly very important to you; don't you think that you should have introduced him to me by now?"

"Mother, you're making a big deal over nothing. Mr. Stetson…Lee…is someone that I work with and he's become…a very close friend…that's all." She briskly wiped the soil from her hands, and began to walk past Dotty as if her answer would end the conversation.

"Amanda, don't you dare walk away from me! I realize that you're a grown woman and your life is yours to live as you see fit, but I won't tolerate having you blatantly lie to me." _And possibly yourself?_

"I don't know what you think I'm lying about." Her stance became less defiant, but she didn't meet her mother's gaze.

"I've suspected for some time that you were being less than honest with me about your relationship with Mr. Stetson."

"Moth-er!" 

"Don't 'Mother' me, that man is in love with you."

"Did…did he tell you that," she asked tentatively, finally meeting Dotty's eyes.

"Of course not-"

"I didn't think so," Amanda interrupted with a trace of sadness in her voice as she looked away.

"He didn't have to say the words." Dotty closed the distance between them and reached out to take her daughter's hand in her own. "I could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice when he spoke about you."

"Well, maybe he does, but our…situation is complicated…"

"Most important relationships are complicated. I won't ask you to tell me any more about him now, but I will strongly suggest that you speak to him about your 'situation'."

"You could be right. Maybe, I just haven't been thinking clearly lately? _One of the pesky side effects of being drugged and tortured._ Thanks for suggesting that I talk to Lee, I'll call him now."

"One more thing, tell him that he's welcome in the house and the yard, but not in the flowerbeds." They walked back into the house in companionable silence, both feeling more hopeful about what the future would hold for their family.


End file.
